the truth
by ApocalypticAndrea
Summary: She has fallen so deep in love with him, she just can't focus on anything else then him. But maybe the love was just one sided.
1. Chapter 1

"Ino, stay focused!" Her teammate Shikamaru yelled out to her, getting her attention just in time. As multiple senbon were launched towards her, she dodge them quickly and without any damage on her. She jumped from the tree branch to the side of her two teammates, Shikamaru and Choji. "What's with you lately, you haven't been very focused, it's not like you." She shook her head before dodging another attack from the enemy shinobi, she backed a few feet behind Choji and threw a kunai his way, just missing him by a hair and hitting the other shinobi on the arm. "What exactly do you guys want with the leaf?" Shikamaru asked one of the shinobi that got trapped in his shadow jutsu.

Ino watched as Shikamaru tried to interrogate the unknown shinobi, this is taking to long; she thought to herself. Suddenly a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist, trapping her arms as well, she let out a shrill scream. Shikamaru turned back, as well as Choji and took a stance, ready to attack. Ino tried to squirm out of the mans grip, kicking him in the groin in process. He cursed in pain and just held onto her tighter, squeezing the air out of her lungs.

"Hey, you let her go!" Choji yelled, running towards the man; but with Ino in his arms there was no way of attacking him. He stopped only a few feet away, "What is it that you guys want?" He asked.

"We came to steal a forbidden scroll, but since you bratty kids got in the way;" The man holding Ino reached to his side and took out a kunai and held it on Ino's throat. "You're going to have to kill you." Ino cursed under her breath, if she had been paying attention she would have never gotten herself in this dilemma. "But I think we can make an arrangement with you," The man spoke again. "We will spare you for this girl." Ino's blue eyes widened and she laughed.

"Like I would let you guys take me, I'd rather die!" She reached her hand into her kunai pouch and stabbed the man in the leg. He cried out and released her after falling to his knees, she made a run for it but he grabbed on to her ankle, pulling her back. She fell to the ground with a grunt, Shikamaru ran towards Choji, ready to attack to man only to be knocked away by another. Choji made a hand sign but was to slow, Ino screamed as she watched Choji get stabbed with a kunai in his stomach. Shit, they were in out numbered and Ino was in deep trouble.

"You little bitched." The man behind her hissed out, he stood up pulling her with him. She dangled in the air by her ankle. She gulped, maybe making that move wasn't such a good idea. "You'll regret ever pulling that shit." The man picked his arm up and threw Ino towards a tree, she closed her eyes and ready herself for the impact, expecting it to be rough and send a massive pain throughout her body, but it was to opposite; someone had caught her.

"Are you alright?" She looked up at her savior and nodded her head. She had seen him before, brown hair with eyes to match, he wore his hitai-ate like a bandanna with the leaf symbol on the back, and had a senbon in his mouth. He didn't wait for her to answer, placing her carefully on the ground he stood up and took a kunai out.

"Choji!" Ino spat out, running towards her wounded teammate. "I'm sorry Choji," She kneel down and turned him on his back. "Please shield me!" She yelled out to her savior, he didn't like her way but nodded his head. "I'll get you better Cho, don't worry." Before she began, she looked around to find Shikamaru but didn't find him.

"He chased after one of the guys." Choji spoke, struggling.

"Don't talk." Ino told him. She focused on trying to heal her friend, green chakra glowed from her hands. "It's a good thing he didn't hit anything important; but I need to get you out of here." Damn, where was Shikamaru when she needed him? She looked down at Choji, she had finished healing him somewhat, but he was still in no condition to keep fighting. "Damn it Choji, I'm sorry. This wouldn't have happened if I had been paying attention. I'm sorry."

"Hey, he's going to be fine!" Shikamaru's voice called out to her. "You duty isn't to be slacking off."

"He's right Ino, I'm fine."

"Watch out!" A man was running towards her and Choji, she quickly stood and grabbed a kunai out and held her stance in front if Choji. The man pulled out a sword and was coming straight for her, she let out a loud gasp when the sword didn't pierce trough her but her savior from before. Another ally ran towards them and kicked the man away. Ino's savior fell to his knees, holding the sword that was stuck in his gut.

"Genma!" The other mad called out to him. "Shit, we need to get out out of here and fast. Ino, please do something for right now." Ino nodded her head, running towards his side. Another person getting hurt because couldn't stay focused on what was around her.

Genma, groaned in pain getting Ino out of her thoughts. She sent chakra to her hands and placed them against his stomach, she was just trying to stop the bleed enough to take out the sword. Once that was done she laid him down quickly and carefully, picking up his shirt; she blushed when seeing his toned stomach and abs but quickly snapped herself out of it and began working at the wound. It was to much, she needed to get him back to the village and to the hospital, _fast_ before the bleeding started again. She touched his stomach and he winched under her.

"Your hands are cold." He manged to say with a small chuckle and then coughed up blood. Ino continued to work at his wound but no matter what she did, he need to get to the hospital. Unlike Choji the sword actually hit some vital organs. Genma watched at the blonde concentrated on his wound, her brows furrowed and her lips pressed together tightly, the last thing he saw before blacking out, was her bright pale blue eyes; watering up.

* * *

Genma's eyes strained to open, the bright light of the hospital room was blinding to him. He groaned and tried to sit up causing a sharp pain to run through his body from his abdomen.

"Don't move, you'll just hurt yourself more." A female voice entered the room. "I'm glad to see you awake, how are you feeling?"

"Like I got stabbed in the gut." Genma said, getting a giggle from the girl. Ino entered his vision of sight, wearing a medical uniform and holding a clip board in her hands. She had a worried smile on her face. "How long was out for doc?" He turned his head and his eyes followed her as she walked in front of the bed.

"Two days, the medicine they gave you really knocked you out." She checked his chart and looked at him from under her eyelashes.

"What happened with those guys?" Ino sighed.

"After they got you and Choji out of there, we captured them, now they're under Ibiki's hands." Genma shivered at the name, he would have rather gotten killed then get sent to him. "You almost didn't make it, even with my help; the wound was to deep and it hit a vital organs." His eyebrow raised. "I'm sorry." There is was, Genma was waiting for her to say it. He let out a frustrated sigh.

"It wasn't your fault," He spoke as she was walking up next to him. "I was the one who decided to run in front of you, even though I saw that you could handle it." She checked his pulse and to see if he had a fever, all while she was listening to him.

"If you knew I could handle it, then why did you still do that?" She told him almost rudely. Genma shrugged his shoulders, it was just an instinct to do it. "Anyways, you can be released in a few days."

"How much is a 'few days'?" Ino held out her hand, all her fingers spread out showing him five. "Five days isn't a few days." He sighed. "So I'm going to pretty much be here for a week?" She nodded her head, why was she acting so rude to him now?

"I'm not acting rude, I'm acting like a professional." he blinked, of course she could hear his thoughts, he had forgotten she was a _Yamanaka_ for crying out loud. He rolled his eyes and smirked. Ino's faced turned a bright red and she dropped her clip board, covering her mouth with her hands.

"Not so much of a professional now, huh?" He joked, he thought to himself again thinking of an image; if she could hear his thoughts he was more than sure she could _see_ what he was thinking. She let out a little squeak and turned to him, her face red with anger now. "Was that to much?" He laughed but it hurt to much to keep going like he wanted. Ino rolled her eyes and bent down to pick up her clipboard. _"Nice ass."_ She heard Genma thinking to himself, she wanted to turn around and slap him. "Hey, where are you going?" She started towards the door.

"I'm done with my shift, someone else will be taking care you." He pouted. She turned back to him once more, blushing when she saw his face, he looked so innocent with that pout on. She quickly walked out the door and sighed, this was going to be a long week for her.

* * *

The blonde walked into the room when one of the other nurses was helping Genma sit up on the bed, he said something that made the nurse blush deeply and giggle. Ino rolled her blues eyes and made her presence known by clearing her throat. They both looked her way; Genma smirked and the the nurse looked away shamefully. She walked over to Genma and handed him papers, he blinked and then took them from her, noticing that she was not in her medical uniform but her ninja outfit. Her short purple halter top, and short open purple skirt revealing another shorter black skirt and fishnets, showing off her toned stomach and smooth long legs but of course Genma couldn't help to stare at her.

"Hey, my face is up here." She snapped her fingers in front of his face.

"Well, you shouldn't wear it if you don't want anyone to stare." He shrugged his shoulders with a smirk. She ignored him and went on to talk to the nurse in the room before snatching the papers back from him after he signed them. "Say, why are you in your ninja uniform?" He asked her when the other nurse left.

"I was on a mission and I just got back, I thought I'd come to see if Sakura was working." She said, a light blush appearing on her face. It was a lie, she knew Sakura was working; she secretly wanted to see him before he was released. "And they asked if I could take your release papers for you to sign." Genma nodded his head and then stood up, stretching his muscles. Ino quickly turned around seeing that he was only in his underwear.

"Like what you see?" Genma chuckled. Ino walked over to one of the closets and handed him some clothes without making eye contact or looking anywhere near him. "What did these come from?" He questioned while taking them from her.

"Shikamaru brought them, he said for helping me out when he couldn't."

"He's really protective of you huh?" She nodded her head, still looking away from him. "Is he your boyfriend?" She started laughing, shaking her head.

"He isn't my boyfriend, if anything I think he has a relationship with that Suna girl, Temari." Now that Genma thought about it, he did see them together a lot when the girl would come for business. Ino was still laughing but stopped with a soft sigh. "He's more like a brother to me." She turned around to let him start changing. "Anyways, I gotta get going." She waved him a goodbye with the back of her hand.

"Wait, I'll walk with you out." She stopped at the door and he jogged towards her, opening to door for her. She stared at him, hesitated but she really did have to leave. "I mean, I feel like I owe you for putting up with me these past five days. Where are you going anyways?" He asked her when she was dropping off the papers to a nurse at the front desk.

"Outside the village to pick flowers." He made a noise, like if he was holding back his laugh. She looked at him from the corner of her eyes, her eyebrow raised in question, what was so funny about her picking flowers? Of course that wasn't the _real_ reason she was going outside the village, but she couldn't tell him the truth. "What? My family owns a flower shop, remember?" She said, defending herself.

"Nothing, nothing. It's just a really girly thing to do." She crossed her arms over her chest and huffed, puffing out her cheeks. "I got a better idea." He stopped her in the middle of the street. "How about we get some lunch, on me." Ino shook her head, any other day she would have, who would pass on a free lunch? But she was supposed to be there after her mission, now it had been almost an hour since then, she just hopped that _he _would still be waiting for her.

"I can't, I really need to get this stuff out of the way." She turned to him with a smile on her face and her hands crossed behind her. "Maybe some other day." She took a step back and then turned around, walking away from him.

Genma stood in the street, alone. He had been rejected, Genma Shiranui _never _gets rejected.


	2. Chapter 2

Genma followed the blonde girl, he needed to figure out her real reason for not taking his offer; picking flowers was not a bigger deal then to eat. He stopped a few feet away from the gate thinking for a moment, was it such a big deal to him that she rejected him? Or it was because she _rejected _him, Genma doesn't get rejected and over flowers? She had lied to him, but was following her still such a good idea? She was almost half his age, she just turned 20 and he almost in his mid 30s, if anyone found out about him getting angry over how an 20 year old rejected him would cause some minds to wonder, and the last thing he needed was rumors spreading around.

"What am I doing?" He turned around, shoved his hands in his pockets and began to walk away; until he heard an echoed scream coming from outside the village.

"I thought we captured all of you creeps!" Ino exclaimed, pulling out a kunai from her pouch. The man roared out a laugh and ran towards her. She quickly dodge him, jumping on to the nearest tree branch. _'Damn it, where is he?'_ she thought to herself, looking at her surroundings, she bit down on her lower lip; this was no time to be thinking about other things. She shot her kunai towards the man but missed, he laughed at her again, jumping up and meeting her on the same branch. He raised his arm and slapped her off the tree, she landed on her back getting all of her air knocked out of her lungs.

"I was given a mission and I must finish it at all costs." His voice was loud and rough. "And this time, I'm not going to hesitate to kill you." Ino turned to her side, struggling to get up. The man jumped down and landed next to her, kicking her stomach to keep her down. "It's a shame because you're such a hot girl." He took out a kunai and pulled her up by her ponytail. She let out a small screech when the cold blade touched her throat.

Another kunai was shot knocking his out of hand and on the ground next to Ino. She smiled already knowing who it was. The man saw Ino's smirk and kicked her back, throwing her a few feet away from him. He looked around for the sight of anyone, and then his eyes shot back to the blonde on the floor, trying to get up. He walked towards her and pulled her up by her ponytail again until she was on her feet.

"Come out, or I'll kill this girl!" His loud voice echoed through the quiet forest. "I guess this person wants to see you die." He whispered roughly in her ear. Ino gulped, why wasn't he coming out.

A dark shadow crept up from behind the crowd of trees; a tall man wearing a long black cloak with red looking clouds stood a few feet away from them. He had long raven colored hair that framed the sides of his face and piercing red eyes, the sharingan, his hitai-ate had the leaf symbol with a slash on it, showing that he was a rouge missing nin. "Who the hell are you?" The man dared to ask, he shook in fear.

"Itachi!" Ino said excitedly. He looked at the blonde and nodded his head. The man holding Ino tugged back on her hair and pressed another kunai at her throat, she let out another whimper.

"I don't care who you are, I was ordered to finish the mission and I'm not going to let you brats stand in my way." He said his voice slightly shaky. Ino let out a scream when the man pulled his hand back and then went straight on for her throat.

"Ino!" A voice yelled through the forest. Genma jumped down from the trees to find the blonde trapped in the hands of the unknown shinobi from the other day. The scene must have confused Genma, noticing the other man that was standing in front of Ino, a s-rank missing ninja from the leaf, Itachi Uchiha. "So the Akastuki was behind those men trying to steal a forbidden scroll? I should have known." Ino wanted to slap him, Itachi wasn't the enemy at that moment, but Genma thought he was. He ran towards Itachi with anger in his eyes, Ino gasped when she saw that he tried to attack him but Itachi dodge quickly, now standing behind the man that held Ino. "What exactly do you people want with that scroll?"

"No Genma, he's only here-Ah!" She was thrown away from the man. He turned around quickly to face Itachi but backed away once he met his eyes. He let out a terrible scream and fell to his knees. Genma watched in confusion as Itachi had attacked the man, and he was now walking towards Ino. She mumbled something when he bent down to pick her up. He started walking towards Genma, handing her over to him before disappearing. He stared at the place where the missing Uchiha boy had been standing and then at the man laying passed out on the floor. What exactly had happened before Genma showed up? "Gen?" Ino said weakly.

"Are you okay?" She nodded her head, patting his shoulder to put her down. "What exactly happened here?" Ino looked away, trying to think of a lie to tell him, she couldn't tell him that she really came out here to meet Itachi and not pick flowers.

"Well, I was picking flowers and the guy came out of nowhere and started to attack me." She started explaining, trying to calm down her voice from talking to fast. "And he was saying things like that he needed to finish the mission and he won't hesitate to kill me this time and then that's when _he _came out a saved me." She stopped to looked at Genma's surprised expression. "Trust me, I was more surprised then you were." There was silence for a moment and then Ino finally asked the question Genma was waiting for. "Why did you show up?" It was more blunt then he had expected it to be. He rubbed the back of his head and laughed nervously. "You followed me!?" She pushed him away from her angrily and lost her balance, catching onto his arm and pulling him down with her. She blushed, there faces only a breath away, she quickly pushed him off of her and her eyes searched around, hoping _he _didn't see that.

"_I saw that."_ Itachi's voice entered her mind, shocking her. Genma rolled on his side and stared at her, wondering what exactly she was thinking about, with her face flustered. _"I'll see you soon, stay out of trouble and away from him."_ Ino sighed and sat up, bringing her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them and hiding her face. If only she hadn't gone to check on Genma, she would have been with him sooner and wouldn't have gotten attacked waiting.

"Are you alright?" Genma waved his hand in front of her face, she blinked bring her head up and nodded. "Lets get out of here and tell someone that the Uchiha isaround these parts. And that guy to." He pointed to Ino's attacker. She wanted to protest, not wanting people to know that Itachi was around the village but she didn't want Genma to get the wrong idea. She nodded her head, he held out her hand to help her up and she accepted it.

Ino sighed, remembering Itachi's words, _'Stay out of trouble and stay away from him.'_ Even since he said those words it felt like she couldn't get away from Genma, they were sent on missions together, with other people of course, and working on things together, she didn't mind his company it just irritated her that they were pretty much always together now.

"Stay focused Ino." Shikamaru reminded her. They were sent on a mission to Suna to inform them about the akastuki being close by. "We don't want a repeat of the last time, these guys won't hesitate to _kill_ us." Genma saw the disappointment in her face and frowned.

"What's your deal Shikamaru? Lay off of her." He defended her, getting a look from Shikamaru in return.

"What a drag, she being spaced out all the time isn't good, she needs to snap out of it before it gets her killed." He sighed taking a looked back at Ino. "I don't know what's bothering you Ino, but it really needs to stop when you're on missions." She nodded her head and looked away shamefully. Genma opened his mouth to speak again but Ino placed her hand on his shoulder and shaking her head with a small smile.

"_Don't let him get to you."_ Her head jerked up, searching around her for the voice.

"_Where are you?"_ She spoke through her mind, Itachi, she was happy to hear his voice again.

"_I can't tell you, but I'm close by."_

"_People in search to find you."_ She warned him and cut away from her thoughts after seeing Shikamaru look back at her. _"Please be careful."_And what that she let her mind focus back on the task at hand.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Genma sat down next to Ino, they had finally reached the Hidden Sand Village, Ino was emotionally and physically drained.

"Why are you always hanging around me?" Genma's eyebrow raised in question and he let out a sly laugh but let it fade when he realized that he didn't really know why he was placing himself around her.

"To make sure you stay out of trouble." He told her, crossing his arms behind his head and rest back against the wall. "I did save your life _three _times, maybe I'm just waiting for you to return the favor." He joked, but she didn't find it very funny, she wrinkled her nose and gave him a sideways look.

"The first one was fine, I could have handle the second one and you knew that, and you didn't even-" She let the conversation die out, not wanting to speak anymore. The last time he didn't save her, Itachi did but telling someone a s-class criminal saved your life would sound crazy.

She looked towards Shikamaru from the corner of her eye and he was watching them like a hawk, with his arms crossed over his chest and a scowl on his bored face. He knew something that she didn't and she didn't like that.

"Really, what's been up with you? Sadness isn't a good look for you." Genma peeked open one of his eyes and looked at the blonde next to him up and down.

"What's it to you?" She snapped, standing up and walking away, passing Shikamaru. He looked at her bewildered and then to Genma with his eyebrows knitted close together.

Genma ignored the glare shooting at him from the blondes teammate and chewed mindlessly on the senbon in his mouth. He looked up at the blue sky and sighed. _'This really can't be happening to me.'_ His mind started to wonder on the possibility of it ever happening. _'I'm attracted to the little brat.'_ He glanced back at Shikamaru and sighed, he knew, he knew before he himself even realized it; he was a genius after all.

Shikamaru slowed down his pace to be next to Ino. They had all decided to walk since it had started getting dark. Choji and Raido insisted that they just stay in Suna for the night and leave first thing in the morning but Ino wanted to get home as fast as she could.

"What is it Shikamaru?"

"Look Ino, I may not be able to read your mind but I do know what something is bothering you." He sighed. "I'm worried about you."

"I'm fine though Shika," She stated showing him a nice smile that was fake.

"No, you're not. If its Sasuke and the fact that," She huffed at the name, Sasuke was the last thing on her mind since he got back to the village. She saw through him and his act, he was a self centered jerk and she was thankful for the fact that was had gotten over him.

"That _boy_ is never on my mind anymore, it makes me sick to even hear his name being spoken. Please don't ever bring him up again Shikamaru." She crossed her arms and looked straight ahead, catching a glimpse of something shining in front of them. She stopped in her tracks and looked around, the place was one big booby trap.

"This is just great." Shikamaru uttered under his breath. "We can't turn back now, it's getting way to late."

Genma quickly grabbed Ino's wrist and pushed Shikamaru out of the way just when a few kunai fell from the sky, landing where they had been standing. Ino gasped.

"There's only three of them." She told them. "Above us!" Genma pulled her away, jumping near a tree. She snapped her arm away from him and took out some shuriken, holding them ready in her hand. She was completely different from all the other fights they had been in together, something in her had changed in that instant. Maybe this was here when she was actually focused or Shikamaru's words really got to her.

"Stay focused Genma!" She yelled towards. While he was lost in his thoughts the enemy had attacked them. He smirked and ran towards her, watching her back; but the enemy soon disappeared into the trees. "They left?" She stood up straight and sighed. "So much for a good fight."

"You were looking forward to fighting?" Genma questioned, smirking and his eyebrow raised. He shifted the senbon in his mouth to the other side and stared at Ino, she had tensed and seemed nervous. She mouth a no, her bottom lip quivered and her legs got weak. "Hey, Ino?" He placed a hand on her shoulder and a kunai shoot through the gap between them. He quickly jumped back, expecting Ino to do the same. "Ino, what are you doing!"

"Genma, what's going on?" Shikamaru and the other appeared through some bushes, out of breath. He saw Ino's trembling figure and ran towards along with Choji. "Ino, what's wrong?" She didn't speak, staring blankly at the ground her eyes wide like plates. Shikamaru looked to Choji with a worried expression and towards Genma.

"What happened to her?" Choji asked him. Genma shrugged his shoulder and shook his head. Another kunai shot at them along with shuriken.

"Shit, just what we need. Ino I need you to snap out of it!" Shikamaru shook her shoulders slightly and she turned to him.

"The chakra is to strong. Two people, very strong people." She muttered, he cursed under his breath and looked around.

"Akastuki." Everyone got ready to attack. "Ino, I really need you to snap out of it so you can tell me where they are." She pointed up towards a tree branch.

"Hm, look Itachi they finally noticed us."


	3. Chapter 3

"Hm, look Itachi they finally noticed us." A very large man spoke his voice was thick and rough.

"Kisame, you know what to do." The slightly smaller man spoke, sharp red eyes stared down towards them. Kisame grinned a toothy grin revealing a mouth full of shark like teeth. He reached to his back and took out a large thick sword that was covered and jumped down next to them, followed by Itachi. He stared at Ino, getting her out of her paralyzed state. _'Run.' _and she did. Shikamaru called back for her but Kisame stopped him and everyone else from running after her. He looked at Itachi who left to pursue the blonde.

"Shit, Ino!" Shikamaru took a step and Kisame's giant sword dropped in front of him. Genma jumped over them and head after her. Shikamaru's eyes narrowed as he watched the man chase towards her.

"It's weird to see you under these circumstances." Itachi spoke softly, genitally picking her head up by her chin. Her heart started to race faster looking into his eyes and her face became flushed with a light shade of red.

"I didn't want to meet like this." She told him, looking away from his eyes. "Someone is coming after me." He sighed and moved her face again to look at him. She had gave into him again, of course it wasn't the first time; she had given into Itachi long before now. She was sent on an two day mission with Shikamaru and Choji and had to face the man alone, but neither attacked each other. She knew even if she tried to make a move he was going to kill her right on the spot. They conversed, small questions at first and she became comfortable with him then. They had met the next day at a little dango shop on the outskirts of the small village and talked, she had gotten an attraction to him, as he did with her; and since then they would meet in secret, not often though, once a month or when they were near each other. She had grown to fall in love with him even though he was a s-rank criminal and if anyone had found out she would be dead; but it was a risk she was willing to take. "Itachi." She spoke his name wobbly, nervous with how close their faces had gotten, their lips only a breath apart.

"Ino!" Genma's voice rang throughout the forest, reminding them that they were not the only ones around there.

Itachi sighed, backing away from the blue eyed blonde and then disappearing with a black puff of smoke. He said no last words to her. She fell to her knees from how shaky they were from the kiss that never happened.

"Ino," Genma relieved voice knocked her out of her thoughts and towards him. "Thank goodness you're okay." He squatted next to her, moving her bang away from her face. "I was for sure that he had caught up to you, wait did he?" She nodded her head.

"But he left me alone." Her eyes started to water but not for the reason Genma took it as, as her being scared. He hugged her and sighed, surprising her with his movement. The sun had finally settled down and the place was pitch black. Genma swooped Ino up in his arms and walked blindly back to where everyone was, hoping that the shark guy had left too. Ino blushed at the fact that he was carrying her; she could feel his muscles flex when he picked her up and his chest moving in and out slowly was calming to her. She rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes with a sigh.

* * *

"Thanks for helping with these boxes Genma. Normally I would have Choji or _make _Shikamaru help me; but they're off on a mission." She placed down the last box near the back door exit of her families flower shop, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand.

"Hm, no problem." Genma walked to the back room catching a sight of Ino bending over to look through the boxes. _'Still has a nice ass.'_ He smirked to himself, getting a death stare from the blonde. He laughed nervously and then turned around. "So you pretty much run this whole place by yourself?"

"I'm the only one who works in here. When my father passed away, my mother stopped coming in here because of memories so she's just in charge of the financial matters." Her eyes softened at the thought of her father, he was a strong and great man; but gave his life on a mission to keep his family safe and the village as well. Genma walked towards her and wrapped his arms around her shoulder, hugging her. "Genma." She let his name slip from her lips with a sigh. It had been almost a month since she saw Itachi on that mission; during this time Genma and her had gotten closer. Hanging out on their days off or when they would get back from missions, but she was scared to get to close to him. Rumors were already starting to spread and not was the last thing both of them wanted. But she knew the truth about them, and nothing has happened, not yet anyways; there is times where Genma would get to affectionate with her or the other way around when they would hug and when Genma would brush by her hand and keep it on top of hers when they would sit next to each other. Like now, the hug had lasted for to long already.

She pulled away from him and smiled before going back to her work. He sat on a chair, sticking a new senbon in his mouth and watched her putting different kinds and colors of flowers in a vase, rearranging them to look perfect. He didn't like the fact that she always worked in the shop, he couldn't buy her flowers and surprise her with them; he sighed remembering to watch what he thought about around her and her mind. The bell to the store rang when the door opened. Ino popped up her head and walked to the front.

"Oh, it's _you._" She spoke with irritation in her voice.

"Is that really anyway to talk to a costumer like?" Genma scooted closer to the door to hear the conversation. "I have something to of ask you Blondie."

"Anything for you Sasuke." Ino spoke statistically mocking all of Sasuke's fan girls and batting her eyelashes.

"If I don't recall, you used to be just like them."

"Yeah, 'used to' being the key word." She rolled her eyes and placed a hand on her hip. "Anyways, what do you need Uchiha?"

"A date." Genma almost fell out of his chair hear those words come out from Sasuke's mouth.  
"A-A what?" Ino asked again, unsure if she had heard him right. He wanted to go on a date her with? No she _must_ have heard him right.

"I want a _date_ with _you._ Geez, are you hard of hearing?" He crossed his arms on his chest and looked away from her, a small blush formed on his cheeks. Ino was speechless and her face was red as a cherry, she did hear him right, he actually said he wanted to have a date with her. Genma peeked his head into the shop and saw both of them looking away from each other their faces flustered with nervousness and embarrassment.

"That little brat." He mumbled to himself. He had nothing to worry about, Ino hated the guy. There was no way she was going to accept his offer.

"Okay." Genma spat out the senbon in his mouth. Mouthing 'really' the same time Sasuke said it her. "Yeah, why not?"

"_Your inner fan-girl has a escaped."_ Genma's voice entered in her mind, she mentally shook it out of her head and smile towards Sasuke.

"I'll pick you up around eight." Sasuke waved goodby while he was walking out. Ino sighed, she wondered what Itachi would say if he knew she was going on a date with his little brother?

"I can't believe you accepted it." Genma stepped out from the back and leaned against the wall giving the blonde flower girl a questionable look.

"I just don't like to turn people down." He's expression quickly changed, remembering the day he asked her out for lunch and turned him down. He mumbled something quietly under his breath, blue eyes stared back at him. "I didn't turn you down, I told you _maybe next time_, you never asked again after that. Not like it matters now, you're always stuck around me like a puppy with no home." She giggled and walked passed him to continue working on the vase and flowers.

She watched him cautiously from the corner of her eyes, his mind had became blank and she was unsure of what his next movements were going to be. He moved, getting out of her vision of sight and she felt a body, his body pressed against her back, hands placed softly on her hips. She continued working as if he wasn't around, ignoring his presence; but it was hard with his body on her back and his hands sliding up and down on her sides. He snaked his arms around her waist and quickly pulled her into a hug, she gasped dropping the sheering scissors that were in her hand.

"Genma?" Ino questioned his actions. He took out the senbon from his mouth and placed it on the table, burring his head in the crook of her neck. What was he doing? She froze when he held onto her tighter, feeling his muscles flex on her skin made her face redder than a rose. "Genma, I really need-" He spun her around and his lips crashed into her. Surprised at his sudden actions she accidentally slammed her back into the the flat edged table letting out a moan of pain. His hands grabbed the upper part of her arms, holding her still, quickly taking his chance from the moan that escaped her mouth.

Ino didn't fight back, she didn't kiss him back neither, she was neutral about the whole thing, mostly shocked. She knew Genma had a thing for her, it was obvious enough for Shikamaru to catch on and tell her, but she had already known. She sighed mentally and had finally given in, relaxing herself into his rough but soft kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck, having to tiptoe with the extreme height difference between them when Genma straightened out his back. She felt his arms slide around her waist, pushing her closer into him and smirked; he desperately wanted her, she could feel it in the way he kissed her. She bit down on his lower lip softly and pulled away from him. She looked into his eyes and sighed. _'What have I done?'_ she thought. She had egged him on to far, she was interested in the jonin don't get her wrong; but she wanted Itachi more and felt terrible for letting Genma get close to her after he said to stay away from him.

"Should I have not done that?" She looked at him, he's innocent expression and soft brown eyes just made her melt. She shook her head and smiled, not wanting to make him feel bad. "Still thinking about going on that date with that Uchiha brat?"

"I told you, I don't like turning people down." He frowned. "Anyways, I need to start getting ready." She untied her apron and hung it on the hook. "And I need to get these," She picked up the vase of flowers and smiled lightly. "To my mom, it's her birthday tomorrow, but I'm gonna be on a mission that's going to last for a few days." she sighed tiredly and followed Genma out the door, locking it behind them. "I'll see you when I get back."

* * *

Ino walked, more like stumbled back to her apartment, she surprisingly had a good time with Sasuke. They went out to eat and then they drank a little, a little to much for the blonde. She let out a relieved sigh, finally taking off her shoes, unzipping her dress not completely taking it off. "Ah, it feels so good to be able to breath again." She laughed at her own joke. She looked in her fridge and grabbed a beer, her eyes wondered towards her balcony and raised her eyebrow. "G-Genma?" She held up her dress with her free hand.

Genma stood leaning against the railing, smoking a cigarette. He stared her down, taking in her drunken state and her beautiful figure in her now loose dress. "A little late to be drinking," He told her, pushing himself up. He cupped her chin and took the beer from her hand drinking some before placing it on the outside table.

"What are you doing here?" She snapped, pushing him away from her.

"You're drunk aren't you?" She nodded her head and turned away from him. "I guess that's answer my question on weather you had a good time or not."

"I had a great time." She slurred on accident, covering her mouth with a blush. Genma laughed and followed her inside. "So, you came just to ask how it went?" He nodded his head, sitting down on the sofa. "It was surprisingly fun, he wasn't being a jerk." She stood in front of him showing her back. "Since you're here, can you zip me up?" She moved her blonde hair over her shoulder. He sat forward and an idea came to his mind, she was to drunk to even bother to try to read his mind anyways. He turned her around and pulled her down to his lap, her pale blue eyes watching, she was cautious but didn't show it.

"You have a beautiful face." She blushed madly, looking away from him. He grazed his fingertips over her skin pulling her face down to his, he smelled like spice and cigarettes but it was amazing in Ino's nose. She moved closer to his lips, closing her eyes, letting herself fall into him.


	4. Chapter 4

"Ugh," The blonde groaned, reaching her hand over to her alarm clock. She turned over and her hand hit something hard, she slide it up the figure and her eyes shot up quickly, widen with shock and a little horror. '_Genma is in my bed.'_ she said mentally, trying to calm herself down. They didn't do anything, she _wasn't _that drunk, a fierce make out session and she had went to bed. She stepped off her bed, the cold floor sent a shiver throughout her body when he feet touched the floor. Making her way to the restroom and looked back at the sleeping man in her bad and couldn't help but smile; he looked to peaceful sleeping. "What am I doing?" She looked herself in the mirror, before stepping into the shower. "I want Itachi not Genma, this is all wrong."

Genma woke to the sound of running water, he stretched his muscles and yawned. He laid still on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Last night filmed through his mind; Ino's innocent drunken state left her completely vulnerable to him, he, they could have done so much more; but he wasn't going to snoop to that level just because she was drunk. He thought about her sleeping, the way the moon shine on her face through the window, her head resting nicely on his chest, then he remembered her talking in her sleep, saying things that made no sense to him but it was just words not the full sentences. She spoke his name once or twice; she also spoke of another, Uchiha. Sasuke more than likely, there would be no way she would be dreaming about the other one.

The sun hadn't even come up and she was already awake at this hour. She did have a mission of course, a mission, with that Uchiha brat, that was going to last a few days, he didn't like the thought of Ino being around the guy; Genma didn't fully trust him. He rolled to the other side of the bed, and sat down searching the floor for his belongings. Once he was dressed he snuck out her balcony, not waiting for Ino to come out, fearing awkward mornings.

"So the mission itself is only going to last two days?" Ino grabbed onto Shikamaru's arm, getting his attention.

"Yeah, it'll take a day to get there, so we're gonna have to camp out. The next day is when we give them the scroll."

"Then we have the next day to ourselves?" Ino asked excitedly, she saw Sasuke roll his eyes; of course he would go back to normal after their date. "Aw, Lady Tsunade is such a great person!" She pulled down on Shikamaru's arm happily.

"Ah, Ino if you keep holding onto me like that I'm going to trip." Shikamaru pulled himself up, trying to regain his balance. The blonde tugged down on his arm with a sigh, she was already tired of walking, the sun was already setting and soon it was going to get to dark to keep going. "We should probably get started on setting up the campsite." Ino released the boy from her arms and looked around the forest.

"So, I hear you've been spending a lot of time with Genma?" Sakura joking nugged Ino's shoulder, they all sat around the fire eating a meal that Ino and Shikamaru cooked up. She blushed and looked away from her, getting curious looks from Shikamaru and Sasuke and a blank confused one from Naruto. "He's really older than you." She stated.

"Age is just a number." Ino replied, remembering that Itachi wasn't that far from Genma's age as well. "But nothing is going on with us!" She exclaimed in protest, Sakura gave her a look and then smirked.

"Eh, Ino are you going out with him?" Naruto leaned in next to her and whispered.

"She leads him on." Shikamaru said with a roll from his eyes

"That sounds like her," Sasuke added rudely.

"No, I don't! Well, I mean, I don't try too, he's just always around me." She fiddled with her fingers nervously, looking at her feet. "He's a kind, nice, _really _cute guy and well," she let her words trail off, not remembering what exactly she was trying to get at.

"So, you _DO_ like him?" Sakura scooted closer, her eyes bright lit up with excitement. Ino groaned and stomped off to her tent.

"I don't like him." She mumbled to herself. "Do I?" She shook the thought out of her head and sighed. "I wish I knew where _he _is."

"Okay, this is how it's going to be settled," Shikamaru started to explain while the made their way into the small village. "Ino and I will be doing most of the talking, Sakura, you and Sasuke will be back up in case they ask a question we don't know, and Naruto," He looked back at the blond boy and sighed. "You just don't mess anything up, this is very important to the leaf, do you all got that?" The group nodded their head with understatement. "We still have an hour or so until we meet up with them, I'm going to check in to the inn." Ino turned around and realized who she was stuck with; Sakura was fine, until she started fighting with Naruto and throwing herself on Sasuke, Naruto was loud and annoying always trying to fight with the Uchiha boy and he, he was just rude. A sigh escaped her lips without realizing it.

"Hm, is something wrong Ino?" Sakura asked, her eyebrow raised in question.

"I'm fine," She laughed nervously. "I'm gonna go check around the village and see what they have." She waved them a bye while walking away. She could hear Naruto making a comment to Sasuke and then cry out in pain from Sakura hitting him. "My god, they sure haven't changed one bit." She walked aimlessly around the small town, stopping at a small cafe. She looked inside thinking that she had seen a glimpse of a black and red cloak. "I must be seeing things." Why would _he _be there anyways and out in the open like that? "Ah, I want dango." She whined to herself, looking around.

"There's a nice little tea shop around the corner that has some." Ino looked behind her and saw a nice looking young man, smirking at her. He had long loose dark hair and bright red eyes, tan skin and was tall. "Would you care to join me Ino?" She was taken back, debating on weather or not she should trust the guy.

"Ah, maybe another time." She chuckled nervously. Wait, did he say her name? "How do you know my name?" The man chuckled and grabbed onto her shoulder, dragging her around the corner to the tea shop he was talking about. He sat her down and sat across from her, ordering for both of them. Ino watched him in suspicion, something about him seem all to familiar to her. "Have we met before?"

"_Come now Ino, we have." _And then it hit her, the man sitting in from of her was Itachi. She smiled happily and wanted to jump across the table to hug him.

"What are you doing here?" She whispered in a squeal. "You can not be here right now." His eyebrow raised at her demand. The waitress soon came with their meal, Ino stared down at her dango and green tea and sighed. "I want to see the real you." Itachi frowned, this body was just a jutsu but Ino wasn't happy seeing that, she wanted to his face and his own smile.

"Kisame and I came here undercover, we can't let ourselves be seen by anyone." Ino concentrated on his new fake face, it was handsome but not like his own. "If he even saw me talking to you, he would start to ask questions."

"Where did she run off too?" Shikamaru asked in a sigh. "That troublesome woman."

"Hey, I found her!" Naruto called out, waving his hand and pointing into a tea shop. "She's with a _guy_." The curious group sped up their speed to see her. "Guys love her, don't they?"

"He's cute, I'm kind of jealous." Sakura giggled.

"Call her and lets go before we're late." Sasuke spatted out turning around and crossing his arms.

"So, you're on a mission with him?" Itachi pointed towards the entrance, Ino looked over and was surprised to see her teammates staring at her and then turn around once they all made eye contact. "Is that why you didn't want me here?" She nodded her head. "Hm, I see how that will cause up some trouble."

"I'm sorry, I have to go." She stood up and took out some money to pay for her meal. He stopped her, and shook his head; Ino blushed.

"I hope I get to see you again." She stood up along with her, placing enough money on the table for both meals. He had the urge to kiss her forehead like usual but didn't for her friends and his little brothers sake.

Ino watched him leave out the cafe, getting eyed up and down by her teammates. She walked towards them and stood in front of them, her hand placed on her hip giving them a look. "Were you guys spying on me?" She asked.

"He's cute Ino, where did you pick him up at?" Sakura asked jokingly. "He might be cuter than Genma." Ino punched Sakura on the arm, her cheeks tinted a light pink.

"Anyways, lets get going." Shikamaru ordered and they all nodded their heads, except Sasuke who was still eying Ino suspiciously.

Ino giggled sweetly at the mans joke, it wasn't funny but they need to get on his good side. "Well, aren't you a cute one?" He pointed at the blonde and she froze, she winked putting up an act and blew him a kiss. "Ah, I love young girls." The statement made Ino want to puke, she looked at Shikamaru from the corner of her eyes, giving him a look to save her.

"Sir, what do you say?" The mans attention shot from Ino's to Shikamaru's and he smiled.

"Of course! If the leaf has girls like _her _there then I will sign anything." Ino shiver when they man winked at her, this is so gross but it was for the sake of her village to keep them on their good side.

Sasuke watched as Ino and Shikamaru worked, now understanding why they were chosen for the man job, with Shikamaru's brain and Ino's looks they would get anything. He smirked to himself seeing the blonde completely hiding the fact that the man creeped her out to no extend.

"Poor Ino, it seems like she's always getting hit on by old creepy men." Naruto whispered quietly in Sasuke's ear, he nodded his head and pushed him away quickly. Ino walked up to the man and handed him the scroll with a smile plastered on her face, he patted down on his lap to sit down. Sasuke almost started laughing at Ino's hesitation and face. Naruto snickered behind him and Sakura punched him quietly on the arm.

Ino made eye contact with Sasuke who had a smirk on his face, oh what she would do get wipe it off his smug face. Her attention went back to the man and flirted nervously with him knowing that her teammates were watching her. Usual she wouldn't be nervous but that was only when Shikamaru and Choji were just around because they knew her; but knowing that Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke were watching as well made her nervous.

Shikamaru stood up carefully and walked towards the man and Ino, watching as he signed the papers. The man happily handed it back to him and smiled widely, wrapping his arm around Ino's waist, trapping her from leaving. Her blue eyes widen when she felt his dry rough hand slide down her skin towards her middle area, she whimpered quietly and looked up at Shikamaru.

"Thank you sir, now if you don't mind, we will get going now." He quickly grabbed Ino by her wrist and dragged her out the door, followed by Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura close behind. Naruto and Sakura were laughing as soon as they stepped out of the building.

"It's not funny!" Ino protested, stomping her foot on the ground in anger. "That was disgusting, ugh! I just want to shower for the rest of my life."

"You know you would have found it funny if it wasn't you Ino." Sakura playing poked at the blondes side.

"You should have seen the look on your face the entire time! It was hilarious!" Naruto held his stomach from all the laughing.

"Whatever," Ino grumbled to herself, crossing her arms over her chest. "What are you smirking at Uchiha?" The dark haired boy shrugged his shoulders and chuckled. "Seriously, I don't even want to stay here anymore because of that man."

"You won't even stay for that guy you met at the tea shop?" Sakura nugged Ino's shoulder. She looked around to where Sakura was pointing, finally noticing the boy, 'Itachi' sitting outside a tea shop by himself. "Go talk to him, he looks so lonely!" Sakura gave her a slight push and Ino smiled happily, fixing her outfit. She started towards him but stopped in her tracks when another girl ran towards him, giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

Ino's heart dropped, that was Itachi, right? It had to have been, but why did that other girl just kiss him? Her mouth was wide open when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She just couldn't believe her eyes, was Itachi really with someone else?


	5. Chapter 5

Ino woke up in a cold sweat, her breath was fast and shallow. Her body started to shake as she looked at her surrounds, where was she? Her room? That's right, she's been sleeping for almost two days?! "That dream, why do I keep having that dream?" She muttered to herself. "Don't understand what it means, maybe I should ask Shikamaru." She stepped into her living, shocked to find a sleeping figure on her sofa. Taking a closer look she noticed his brown hair and senbon tossed on the floor, Genma but why was he in her house and sleeping on her sofa? "Hey," She gave him a nudge. "Genma, wake up. What are you doing here?" He turned to her, his eyes fighting to stay open. His hand reached out for her, grabbing her elbow and then pulled her down on the sofa.

Ino let out a small gasp when he body landed on top of the sleeping man and he held onto her tiredly. She let him hold her for a few more minutes, taking in his handsome sleeping face. But then remembered why she was stuck in her house, alone and still sleeping.

"Aw, Genma wake up please." Ino begged him.

"You've been asleep since you got him two days ago." His sleepy voice sent a chill down her spine as he buried his face in the crook of her neck.

"Were you worried about me?" She grinned coyly with a laugh. His head move up and down slightly and her cheeks turned a light red. "Hm, get up. I'll make us some breakfast."

"That Uchiha boy brought you home, I had passed by when I saw him carrying you. So I followed him but he noticed me." Genma laughed weakly. "He told me that you had passed out when you got into the village, I took you off of his hands but he didn't seem to like that." Ino turned to him and placed a plate of eggs in front of him. "I haven't left since I brought you inside, I thought you were never gonna wake up."

"I don't remember anything from when we finished the mission." A loud crash of thundered scared the blonde, causing her to drop her plate of food. She looked out her balcony door when a bright flash of lighting , lighted the sky. She hadn't even noticed that I was dark outside.

"Are you okay?" Genma bent down to help Ino pick up the broken pieces of the plate off the ground.

"I'm fine, I just got scared is all." She let out a sigh, Genma's hand stopped her before she could pick up a piece of plate. She heard him say her name and her eyes met his. Genma's face lowered closer to hers. His warm breath made up for the cold air that the rain brought into her house. His lips grazed hers but she shamefully moved her head. "Genma," He didn't let her speak, grabbing her face, he placed his lips against hers. His kiss was hot and full of lust but Ino didn't fight it. A deep part of her did want to kiss him back but she couldn't. Itachi kept creeping into the back of her head and she couldn't focus on anything else.

He bit down on her lip to gain access to the inside of her mouth. Ino moaned from the bite and Genma's tongue explored her mouth. She let out a small whimper that caused him to pull away from her. "Someone's coming." She told him quickly. Her blue eyes flashed towards her room, sending Genma in there. Ino sighed, and watched the door until there was a knock. Her heart was pumping fast; the chakra signature she sensed could only mean two people; but why were _they _both together. She opened the door with slight confusion on her face. "Sasuke, Shikamaru?" She moved aside and let them in. "What are you doing here?" She invited them both in, stealing a look at her room, Genma wasn't stupid he wouldn't step out of there.

"Lady Hokage sent us to check on you," Shikamaru walked to her living room and sat down on the sofa.

"How kind of her, but I don't think she would have sent the both of you." Ino pushed Sasuke to the living, trying to get him away from the door of her room.

"Yeah, we have a mission." He told her bluntly, sitting down on the chair opposite of the sofa. His eyes noticed the lone senbon tossed on the floor and his eyebrow rose in suspicion.

The blonde saw his eyes move to the floor and his eyebrow raise, she bite her lip and looked away. She needed them to leave so she could get Genma out of her room without any questions asked and she needed them out quickly.

"A mission?" She quickly stood up and placed her hands on her hips. "Well, I'll get ready, you know I haven't showered in like two days, I really need it!" She laughed nervously and walked towards her door. I'll meet you guys by the gate." She swung open her door.

"Ino, we need to leave immediately." Shikamaru muttered 'troublesome woman' under his breath before standing up.

"One more thing Blondie," Sasuke turned to her before walking out the door. "Shiranui is also in our team." He pointed at the senbon on the floor and then walked away. Ino looked away from Shikamaru's questioning gaze and then shook her head, closing the door.

"You can come out Genma," She sighed out. "Did you hear all that?" She asked him picking up the senbon off the floor and then throwing it at her wall, letting it stick out.

"Why would they need me?" The blonde's shoulders went up and down in a shrug. "I'm going to speak with the Hokage, I'll see you soon." He put senbon in his mouth and stuffed one hand in his pocket and walked out of her door.

Ino stared at his back as he walked away and then sighed. Why would Tsunade want Genma to join them on a mission? He was a bodyguard for her, unless- what exactly was this mission going to be about?

"That old man from the other day!?" Ino felt sick in her stomach, "He wants me to what again?"

"He requested you to go back and see him. He really took a liking to you." Sakura giggled, making fun of Ino.

"Why should I have to do this?" She protested, stomping her foot on the ground. "I won't do this, that guys was a totally disgusting creep!" She shivered at the thought of him touching her again.

"Ino, you have too." Shikamaru sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I told the Hokage about the first time that's why,"

"That's why she wanted me to join you." Genma walked up to them coolly with a smirk on his face. "My job in this mission is to protect you if that man decides to do anything you don't want."

"I don't want to see him, can you protect me from that?" Ino pouted, crossing her arms over her chest and looking away from everyone. "Ah, this is going to be horrible." She told herself as everyone started walking. "But wait, if this mission is for me, then why are you guys here?"

"And miss the chance of seeing you going on a date with some old man?" Sakura spoke for Shikamaru and Sasuke although they didn't want to admit it.

"I wanted to make sure for myself that this guys isn't going to try anything funny." Shikamaru avoid Ino's eyes.

"I needed something to do while Naruto is away."

"You're a terrible lair Sasuke." Ino pointed out, making a slight blush appear on the Uchiha's stone cold face.

Genma watched silently as the blonde girl hung onto Shikamaru's arm as they walked. She giggled over something he said which was hard for him to believe, Nara seemed like a really boring guy who couldn't make a joke to save his life. Then he noticed the strange look coming from the pink haired girl next to the Uchiha boy. She had a goofy grin on her face as she walked slower to be next to him.

"Is there something I can help you with?" He asked her.

"Are you getting jealous?" He blushed with her sudden question. "Because you shouldn't be. They've known each other since they were in dippers."

"That's great to know." He said statistically with a roll of his eyes.

"Besides, Shikamaru and the girl from the sand have something going on, he just won't admit it to anyone." That little bit of information made Genma feel a little bit better, but since they left the village Ino hasn't even looked his way. He saw her stop dead in her tracks and was ready to attack with a kunai in his hand.

"We're being followed." Ino stated and looked back at Sasuke.

"I noticed them too." He said, activating his sharingan.

"Above us!" Sakura shouted. They all scattered as a group of ninja's fell from the trees. "Where's Ino?" She landed next to Shikamaru and he shook his head. "She's not next to Sasuke, Genma is missing too."

"Don't worry, his part of the mission is to keep her safe."

"Do you think it was okay for us to lie to her about the mission?"

"Yes, she would have never agreed if we told her the truth. Split up and find Sasuke, I'll look for Ino and Genma."

"Dammit," Genma cursed under his breath as two unknown ninja's attack him. His eyes searched around for any sight of Ino. "Where is she?" A girly scream filled the forest and he took off full speed in search for the god damn scream.

"Shiranui!"

"Genma, wait!" Ino's voice cause him to freeze, turning his head he found her sprinting towards him along with the Uchiha boy. "Gen, it's a trap!" He began towards her relieved to find out she was okay. But he had spoke to soon, a kunai was thrown in between them with another ambush of ninja's.

"What's going on here!?" Ino screamed as she fought off two of the ninja's that ran after her. "Where's Shikamaru and Sakura anyways?"

"Ino, behind you!" A man with a katana ran towards the blonde but then quickly froze. Ino let out her breath when she saw the long black shadow attached to him.

"Shika!" A hand snaked over Ino's chest and stomach pinning her arms to her side. "Help!" She cried out trying to wiggle her way out of the man's arms.

"Oh, not this again." Genma said under his breath. He saw a hint of pink fall from the trees above Ino and then land a strong punch on the man.

"Ah, Sakura! Watch out!" Ino turned her back on Sakura's and made a quickly hand sign. "Shinranshin no Jutsu!" Genma watched amused with the blonde's technique, how easily it was for her to be able to control another person's mind.

"What the fuck was all that about?" Ino walked around the camp furiously. "Who the fuck were those people and why did they attack us?!"

"Ino calm down, troublesome woman."

"Calm down?!" Ino let out a small angry gasp when she noticed everyone's expressions. "You're hiding something from me," When no one spoke she let out a frustrated groan and stomped away from the camp. She knew she could the information out of them easily but if all of them were keeping something from her then it mustn't be good for her to know at all but still; she hated lairs.

"Ino,"

"Genma, I don't want to talk right now." She hugged herself to keep warm from the cold night wind. "I want to be alone, okay?"

"Ino," Closing her eyes, she let out a tired sigh and then turned to him.

"Genma, look" Her eyes opened, shocked to find Genma's face only a breath away from hers. Her eyes hooded, his warm breath on her face made her blush. "Genma," She said dreamily. "Please, I want to be alone."

"Ino," His hand cupped her chin pulling her face closer to his, brushing their lips together. "Why must you be so cruel to me?" He pulled her face roughly on his, their lips crashing together and her heart dropped.

"Where could she had ran off too?" Sakura sighed out. "Man, I hate when Ino gets like this."

"Man, what a drag. We should have just told her from the beginning what was going on."

"Say's the man that convinced the Hokage to keep it a secret from her."

"What are you trying to say Sasuke?" Shikamaru stopped and stared lazily at Sasuke.

"All of this could have been avoided if you had told her the truth." Sasuke walked faster to be father away from the _'genius man_'.

"I don't think now's the time to be fighting with each other."

"Genma's right guys, we need to find Ino before someone else does."


End file.
